Home is where the heart lies
by insertironicnamehere-ON HIATUS
Summary: On their return from the Underworld, the heroes find an unwanted guest waiting for them in Storybrooke, bent on revenge. He replaces their true memories with fake ones of pain and suffering and sends them off to the New Enchanted Forest. Hook is the only one who can bring them back home and save them, but they don't even know him anymore. Mainly CS, but also OQ and Snowing.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _My breath caught as none other than Pan walked out from the back room of Rumplestiltskin's shop with characteristic nonchalance, acting as if he owned the town. How the bloody hell was he here? How did he get out of the Underworld?_

 _He took a deep breath before speaking, "Ah, my favourite people, Heroes." He spat the word out like it was an insult. "All reunited, I see."_

 _"How the hell are you here?" Emma spat back._

 _"Your darling Rumple was more useful than I had hoped, see, he was rather helpful in getting me back to the real world and he was so kind to give me the power I deserve too."_

 _"What did you do to him?" Belle's voice shook as she asked him._

 _"I don't think explanation is necessary, not when I have this." He pulled out the Dark One dagger from his belt, however instead of Rumplestiltskin being engraved into the metal, on it was written 'Peter Pan'._

 _"You are the Dark One now?" Even Regina's voice wavered while challenging the new Dark One._

 _"Isn't it obvious, Regina love?" His eyebrows shot up, "I am now more powerful than any of you could imagine, and that is exactly why I am here." He walked up to me, "see, when Captain over here was saved by his 'true love' and brought back from the Underworld, I was given an opportunity. There was a whopping great hole in the fabric between here and the Underworld, meaning that with a given sacrifice, I could easily make my way back up. I wouldn't call Rumplestiltskin the most willing sacrifice, but it was easy enough once I got hold of the dagger. It was a win-win situation. I am alive, he is dead, and I have inherited all of his power, and that is why I'm here. Revenge. You were the ones who sent me away to the Underworld in the first place, so I am here to get back for it. You ripped me away from my true love, my power, so now I will rip you away from your true loves too."_

 _He walked past all of us, enjoying how he was in charge now. He began at Belle, who stood to the other side of the room, tears running down her cheeks at the loss of her love. "I do like what the previous Author attempted, what with creating an alternate dimension in which none of you got happy endings, yet it was too weak. I am ready to cast a curse which will send you away to the Enchanted forest, and it will be like none of you even met." He ran his fingers down Belle's cheek, "Oh, Belle, you will be stuck in your father's hold once more, and you will have never met dear Rumple. The only part of the world you will have ever seen is the inside of your palace walls, like a caged bird."_

 _He walked along to Robin and Regina, who stood with their hands interlaced. "The thief and the queen, what a combination. You, Robin Hood, will still be a thief, grieving at your wife's death and living alone. All Regina will be to you is the queen of the knights which you fight every day, in an attempt to stay in the forest. And, Regina, you will still be wrapped up in the grief of your lost love and your father, and will never know love again."_

 _Now he stood in front of Emma's parents, with a wicked smile. "Dear Snow, you will be in your castle, alone. After that brief relationship with that random shepherd, you gave birth to a child, which you abandoned since it would be improper for a queen to have a bastard child. You never saw the shepherd again, after he abandoned you when he found out you were with child, and you will never love again. The shepherd, after leaving Snow white, spent the rest of your miserable days slaving away on a farm."_

 _He leaned in right to Emma, his grin even larger. "And this is the best part. The bastard child of the queen never knew her parents and was abandoned by the roadside. She was raised by a group of wandering bandits, and became one herself. She has never experienced love, and dear Henry won't even exist. She spends her days stealing from travelling folk and her heart is colder and as yielding as a piece of slate. The feared bandit, Emma Swan, doesn't have the ability to love."_

 _He then finally stepped in front of me, fire gleaming in his wicked eyes. "I lied. This is the best part. Captain Hook, after all we have gone through, you are the one who will suffer the most, for betraying our partnership. This time, you will know everything, remember everything, when no-one else does. Your darling girlfriend won't even know you, and you have always, and always will be, just a pirate."_

 _With a flick of his hand, Black smoke began filling the room; the curse. I pressed my lips against Emma's for the last time._

 _"I love you." I said to her._

 _"I love you too," was the last thing I heard before my vision went entirely black._

"Are you well, Cap'n, you seem a touch queasy?" I opened my eyes to see the Jolly Roger around me, in the harbour that was unmistakably one of the Enchanted Forest. Smee stood by my side on the deck, and I was now wearing my old coat and red vest. I was a pirate once again, and I knew that I needed to act the part so as not to arouse suspicion.

"I am fine, Smee. What isn't fine is you questioning your Captain. Go back to your work at once." I shivered at the memories of my pirate days, and how I acted, but I had to put the front back up again, for my own safety.

I walked off the deck, so I could look around the town and get my bearings straight on what this new Enchanted Forest is like. I began to feel anger creeping in as I thought of Pan's words; Emma would never know me, and would never be able to love. We had had but a few hours together after our return from the Underworld, and we had been forced apart once more.

Hordes of white knights, which must have belonged to Snow White, suddenly flocked the town square, dragging a girl into the centre so everyone could see. Much to my surprise, I recognised the girl. She was Lily, the lass who Emma had befriended as a child and is Maleficent's daughter. A man strutted in behind them, who appeared to be of higher rank than the other soldiers.

"Good Townsfolk, this girl has been found guilty of associating with a disgusting, murderous villain. On the queen's orders, this is what happens to criminals. The man stepped up to Lily and drove his sword through her as if it were an everyday procedure. She fell to the ground, and he stepped back towards the increasingly large crowd. "Let this show you that if you associate with criminals, you become a criminal too. If any of you catch suspicion of the whereabouts of this villain this girl helped, do not hesitate to come forwards. The name of this villain, is Emma Swan."

 **A/N**

 **Welcome to my story! Feedback is very much appreciated, whether positive or negative.**

 **BTW, I am in fact british, so if you think anything is misspelled, it is probably just the british way of spelling it!**

 **-Sophie**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I walked out of the town square, feeling dizzy and rather heartbroken. Things were even worse here than I expected; Snow White was no longer a woman of virtue and morality, Emma was a cold-hearted, who knows what else could have been happening? I sat myself down in the first tavern I could find, hoping that a bottle of rum could soften my emotions. As I waited for some service, I couldn't help but overhear a conversation between two women by the bar.

"Have you heard of what… _she_ did yesterday, and why that girl was killed earlier?"

"Who's ' _she_ '?"

"The first woman leaned in and whispered, "Emma Swan, of course. She managed to stop a royal carriage, kill everyone inside of it and all of the guards, and take a pouch filled with gold and jewellery."

"Ugh, she is so horrible. Who could kill so many people and be able to live with themselves?"

"I'm terrified now of travelling anywhere outside of town, I'm scared that she will… get me too."

I struggled to believe that their exchanged words could have possibly been about the woman I love, and that she would just kill. I couldn't imagine what the royals could have done to her to make her do this, since Pan said she never knew who abandoned her as a new born

I decided against the rum and went outside into the cool night for some air, and a chance to think about the crippling unhappiness that is the rest of my life in the New Enchanted Forest. I walked through the now quiet town, to the outskirts of a forest. I could have left the town and my ship just then, but I couldn't risk the chance of being caught by any of the numerous outlaws and bandits that it harboured.

I fell down to the soft grassy ground, suddenly becoming overwhelmed by what my new reality was. I looked up to the stars for guidance and reassurance, like I did at sea, reminding myself of how Emma was under the very same stars.

"Don't move, otherwise I will slit your throat before you can say a word." A disturbingly familiar, yet unrecognisable voice said as I felt the cold touch of metal against my neck. "Good, good. Now, what is your business here, pirate?" Darkness shrouded the figure holding the sword to my neck, but his tall stature and voice told me who he was.

"I see my reputation precedes me, thief." I replied as he pressed the sword against my neck slightly, creating a small cut.

"What do you know of me?" I stood up slowly, holding up my arms to show I wasn't holding any weapons.

"I know an awful lot more than you think I do,"

"Like what?" He scoffed.

"Your wife, Marian, died recently and you are dealing with her loss by stealing from travellers and killing Black Knights which Regina sends after you, Robin Hood." He stepped into the moonlight, confirming my suspicions of his identity.

"What kind of sorcerer are you?" He asked incredulously.

"I am not; it is a long story and one which you will surely not believe, but if you want to ever have true love again, you will let me go."

He smiled sadly, "I'm sorry, Captain Hook, but I don't think I will ever have true love again."

"You have my word that you will one day, because I have seen it with my own eyes." He cautiously lowered his sword and I thanked heaven above that his honour at least remained through the curse.

"I can see the loss of your true love in your eyes too, Captain. Since you know so much about me, why don't you tell your story?"

"Aye, you are right. The love of my life has slipped from my grasp just recently. She isn't dead, but she might as well be, as we have been separated through magic. If you really want to know of my story, why don't we do it over a drink?"

He nodded, "But is there is any funny business, pirate, you will have hell to pay."

As we began walking back into the town, I murmured beneath my breath, "I believe I already have paid enough."

We were sitting in the same tavern I had been in but an hour ago, except it was now noticeably louder and more bustling as the night went on. "So you are telling me," he said, "that we have all been cursed here by something called a Dark One, and have had our true memories replaced by fake ones, except you have been punished to remember everything."

"Aye. I know I sound like a madman but…"

"But I know honesty when I see it, and you are telling the truth. One thing though, you haven't told me the name of your true love, who now doesn't even know you."

I gulped and whispered the words, "Emma Swan."

His eyebrows shot up with shock, "You... you mean _the_ Emma Swan?"

"Yes, indeed. You may know her as a murderous thief, but that's not who she truly is. She is what we called the saviour; she is the product of true love who saved our town multiple times over."

""Look, I am one of the few who have met Emma Swan and still live to see the light of day, but if you chased after her, you certainly wouldn't be so lucky. You will get killed trying to chase after that woman, and she is no saviour, I'll tell you that. Emma Swan is one nasty piece of work that you do not want to have the misfortune of meeting."

"Please, you know I'm telling the truth. Don't you feel anything when I am talking about our past, don't feel as if all of this is just... wrong?" I appealed.

He was silent for a moment, as if thinking, "You are right," hope surged through my body at those three words. "You are right that you are a madman and I have no business with you." He marched out of the tavern right then, leaving me, once again, alone with only my thoughts.

 _What if that is exactly what I have to do?_ I thought to myself _. What if I go and find Emma? If all goes to plan, we share true love's kiss and break this curse. If not, she kills me. But either way is better than what i have now; a miserable half-existence. If I can't break the curse, I would be far happier dead_.

I walked out of the tavern too, now set on my quest to find Emma Swan, and with any luck, make her remember who she is.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I was travelling down the main road through the forest; the one which royal carriages always went down. It was in hope of finding Emma, and at least encouraging her to help me with some robbery or something of that sort, so I could get close enough to her to be able to kiss her. I was accompanied by two of the braver of the men in my crew, simply so I had a chance of not being killed instantaneously.

It was two weeks since my confrontation with Robin, and I had spent that time tracking the whereabouts of Emma, and working out where I was most likely to find her. I had also spent it finding out general information about the New Enchanted Forest, so I had some idea of who to avoid and who I could ally with.

The two men suddenly dismounted from their respective horses beside me, to approach a hooded woman walking down the road just ahead of us. I sighed at their utter incompetence and weak will around a woman, and got off of my horse, following the men so I could move them on. They both closed in on the woman, who was surprisingly calm. She stopped and turned to the two of them, her hood concealing her face.

"How would you like to come back to our ship?" One of them asked, licking his lips.

"We pirates could do with some… companionship." The other chimed in.

The voice of the woman shook me to the core and sent shivers up my spine. "I'd rather not, I'm afraid. I have… business to attend to. Sorry boys." Her voice was cold and emotionless as she dismissed the men.

As she tried to walk away, the men blocked her path. "You men never learn, do you?" In a flash, she pulled out a sword and the men were now on the floor, their lifeblood soaking into the forest earth. I blinked and she was facing me, the wickedly sharp point of her sword pressing against my neck.

"Give me one good reason not to kill you."

My voice cracked as I barely whispered, "Swan…" She suddenly jerked upright and then pressed the sword harder against my neck.

"How do you know my name? You haven't even seen my face?"

"I am Captain Hook, of the Jolly Roger. I came down here in the hopes of finding you, because I need to do something which you may be able to help me with."

She laughed coldly, "Why would I help you?"

"I promise a large sum of gold, and passage out of this realm." Despite the fact that I couldn't see her face, I felt her accusing gaze soften slightly, as did her body.

"Okay," She lifted her hood down, and my heart skipped a beat as I saw her face once more. Except, it wasn't her face. Her green eyes were colder and harder than ice, not soft and loving, and her lips were pressed together tightly. She looked less like herself now than she ever did as the Dark One, because I couldn't see even a flicker of the saviour in her; I could only see the bandit. "But I want to know that you aren't lying to me. Give me the gold now, and I will help you."

I reached into my satchel and pulled out a hefty pouch of gold coins, and dropped it in her outstretched hand. She seemed sated and put it in her satchel, and held out her hand again, but this time I shook it, and at the touch of my hand, the tiniest bit of warmth came back into her eyes.

She nimbly vaulted onto one of the deceased men's horses, and I onto mine. I then realised how difficult this was truly going to be. I would have to hold up this same front until Emma actually began to care for me. This quest wasn't to just get close enough to kiss her; it couldn't be that easy. The coldness and lack of recognition in her eyes made me realise that I would have to make her fall in love with me all over again.

"So," she began as we rode, "What am I doing for you?"

"I need you to steal something very specific," I said while trying to think what could possibly be stolen,

"Well, what is it?"

"A ring. From Queen Snow White's castle," She laughed dryly.

"Got a special someone?"

"No, no, no…. definitely not. I have a… client who wants it for reasons I don't know."

She nodded, letting silence come between us again.

"Tell me about yourself, Captain. I want to know where you got the Hook." Her voice became low and sultry, and lust-filled. It was still not Emma though. Even if she was physically attracted to me, that didn't mean anything, really.

"I lost my hand in a duel against the man who killed my lover many, many years ago. I then sailed to Neverland, a place in which you don't age. Neverland is a truly awful place to be. It drains all of the hope and life out of you, and slowly drives you mad. The ruler of Neverland is a tyrant, a man with no heart or soul at all." Emma snorted.

"Some people say the same of myself. But in some ways, that is true." Even in the short space of time that we had been together, I could tell that she is already beginning to open up, almost as if the very core of her being recognised me, even if her mind did not.

We had spent hours in the saddle, until it fell dark and we found a clearing to sleep in. We both dismounted and tied the horses up so they could rest. Emma very quickly lit a fire and made a bed for herself out of blankets and such that she was carrying. She ignored me for the rest of the evening, but that was to be expected. When we first met, it was the same thing. Emma pushed me away because she was vulnerable around me, and it scared her.

All I need to do is knock those walls down again, which will take time and a bloody lot of effort. But at least she hadn't killed me yet.

We were awoken the next morning by shouts ringing through the forest. I quickly got up, as did Emma, unsheathing her sword. I followed suit, ready for an attack. A small group of white knights ran towards us, unable to ride through the thick undergrowth. There were only four of them at first, all armed with swords. Emma ran forward towards them, making short work of disarming them and then killed all of them in the blink of an eye.

It was so… not Emma. She might as well have just been walking to the sheriff's station or making a coffee in the morning, it was no natural. It threw me back into reality that this woman wasn't Emma; she was a heartless bandit that pretty much killed for sport and could kill me in an instant.

"Are you going to quit staring like an idiot or are you going to pack up and move. We don't have long until more knights come." Her harsh words forced me on, further reminding me of the pirate that I had to play.

I replied, "As you wish."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **Robin's pov**

For the next few days after walking out on Captain Hook in that tavern, I had been questioning the reality around me. I was wrong to walk out, because after hearing what he told me was the truth, I could now feel what he was talking about. I could feel, right at the bottom of my heart, that something was wrong. I couldn't tell what it was, but I knew that I was living a life built on lies.

For the past year, I had been a lonely man, after my wife died of illness, and our unborn child died with her. I had roamed the forest by myself, earning a living by taking from the rich. It wasn't much, but it was my life, and I felt secure in that. Until the Captain had gone poking holes in everything I believed to be true. When I tried to think back to before Marian's illness and when we were happy together, it just filled my head with excruciating pain, as if something didn't want me to be happy.

One early morning, I was woken up by shouts and cries all around me. I opened my eyes to see Black Knights surrounding me, most of them wielding crossbows. One of them stepped forward, one of the few swordsmen. "Robin Hood, you are hereby arrested under Her Majesty Regina's orders for trespassing on private property. You will be taken to the palace for further trial."

I had no chance against all these men, with so many arrows aimed at my chest. I allowed them to tie my hands behind my back, and I was thrown into a moving jail, pulled my two black horses. It was a long and uncomfortable journey, but once the sun was high in the sky, we arrived at the former Queen's palace. It was shadowy and definitely unwelcoming; all sharp angles and dark stone.

I was taken through the castle, much to the amusement of other Black Knights, and thrown down to the floor before the Queen's own feet. She walked around me with a disgusted sneer on her face, looking down her nose at me.

"This is Robin Hood, your highness." The same Black Knight who had talked to me said.

"This is the thief who has been trespassing? This random man who smells of… forest." Her voice, however harsh, for some reason stirred something within me, as if my heart sung to her words. Strangely, I hadn't met the Queen before (thankfully) yet I felt as if I recognised her, deep within me.

"Your majesty, you must understand, I am but a widower, with no money except for what I scrounge. I was only in your wonderful forest because of its life and prosperity, for it has plenty to give in the way of berries and fruit." Her face twitched as a talked, as if she had the same feeling as I did.

"Guards! Leave us alone for a moment," She dismissed the men, once they left, she narrowed her eyes at me, "Why are you looking at me like that? Like some lost puppy?"

"Because I think you're beautiful," the words tumbled out of my mouth of their own accord, leaving the two of us speechless. She swallowed slightly and tucked a lock of hair beneath her ear. The small smile that came on her face, though discreet, shone like the sun. Whatever my brain told me about my past was irrelevant at this point, because I knew, that seconds into meeting her, with Regina I was absolutely smitten.

"I… I wouldn't say that you're too bad looking yourself." She stuttered, clearly unused to compliments such as that. She lifted her eyes to look me in the eye, and our gaze locked for a moment. I felt myself beginning to drown in the chocolate depths of her eyes, forgetting the hardness and evil that sheltered them on the outside, and seeing the warmth and emotion that lingered in them. She had given up on revenge on Snow White years ago, though she still ruled her land and palace with an iron fist, and ended most people unlucky enough to come into contact with her.

She coughed and her eyes snapped back to the floor, and then back to my eyes with a new coldness in them, as if she was scared to open up to me. But I couldn't forget what I had seen in her eyes just moments ago. It was at this point that I knew that Captain Hook was right. I can't remember it, but my life was entirely different to how I had been forced to remember it, and I knew that in my true life, I had found love again. That love, was Regina.

"How dare you speak to a Queen in such a manner?" Her voice became harsh and cold again. I opened my mouth to talk, but she quickly silenced me. "I will hear none of it. You have been found in the private property of my woods, yes?"

"Yes, I have." I replied to her calmly.

"And you have stolen items off of people in a pathetic attempt to create a living for yourself?"

"Yes." She narrowed her eyes again, deciding what to do with me. I expected her to execute me then and there, as she would any other criminal found guilty.

"Guards!" She called out and they all shuffled back into the room, "take the thief to the dungeons." They all briskly complied and dragged me away to my cell. I just stared in the Queen with amazement; she had, in her own way, shown me of all people mercy? She gave me a fleeting glance before closing the door behind us, telling me all I needed to know; she had some feelings inside of there for me too.

 **A/N**

 **What do you think about having chapters in Robin's pov like this? Please leave a review with your opinions.**

 **I had someone ask me what happened to baby Neal; since Snow and David left each other after Emma was born, Neal never even existed in the New Enchanted Forest, just like Henry doesn't exist in it either.**

 **-Sophie**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **Emma hadn't uttered a word to me since the attack that morning, which was definitely to be expected. Firstly, my actions then were bad form; I should have helped Emma fend off the Knights, no stand like a blethering idiot, so she has the right to be angry at me. Secondly, I knew that her being around me made her feel vulnerable, and that scared her (after all, it was the same when we first met on that beanstalk).**

 **We rode through the dense forest in thick silence, the only noise around us was the rhythmic beating of the horse's hooves and the occasional bout of birdsong. Near midday, Emma, out of the blue, hissed, "Was it you that alerted those damn Knights of my presence?" I was taken aback by her sudden aggressive outburst, but I chose to take it coolly and in a rather offhand manner, as my pirate self would.**

 **Giving her my best easy smile, I purred, "Now, it wouldn't be much help if I tried to kill the woman who is helping me, would it?" I swore that I caught a glimpse of a smile in return, but Emma quickly cast her eyes to the forest floor, with a hint of a blush on her cheeks.** ** _Good,_** **I thought,** ** _because if she wasn't even the slightest bit attracted to me, she wouldn't be uncomfortable,_** **as she clearly was now.**

 **We continued without speaking for a while, until Emma turned to me and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?" She must have felt my hungry gaze on her as we rode; I could not help it after not seeing her for so long, as we only had a fleeting moment together after the Underworld, before being torn apart again.**

 **"** **Because, dare I tell the feared Emma Swan that she is a rather pleasant sight,"**

 **She smiled shyly again at my comment, but this time replied with a sultry smile and raised eyebrow, "And I'd be lying if I said you weren't easy on the eyes, Captain."**

 **Emma brought her horse to a halt as the trees began to thin out and we could see the royal castle before us. "This is it," she said as she quickly got off her horse and brought it away from the track. I followed suit and once I got into the cover of trees with her, she whispered, "I'm going to go and fetch that ring of yours, while you stay put right here. If I'm not back by sundown, leave. I will be dead or imprisoned by then, so you will have no business here anymore. But, I don't intend to get caught, so I'll see you later, Hook." She walked off without needing a reply, and quickly went out of sight into the undergrowth.**

 **Dusk had fallen, and Emma wasn't back yet. Wonderful. I took the horses out into the track, and looked back at the castle with a heavy heart. Just as I prepared to get on the horse, I stopped and made my decision. I was going back for her, against her instructions. "Bloody hell," I muttered under my breath as I followed Emma's tracks towards the palace.**

 **Getting in was the easy part; I knocked a lone guard unconscious and took his armour for myself, allowing me easy entry. The difficult part was finding the bloody dungeons. After a long time of searching, I found the stone steps which led down to the dungeon, making sure to pick up the set of keys that hung from a nail drove into the wall. Thankfully, there was only a single guard down there, who I promptly made unconscious and tied him up to give us a head start.**

 **I walked into the room where the actual cells were to find Emma sitting miserably in one, playing with a piece of straw from the ground. She looked briefly up at me and back down again; after all, she was unaware of my real identity at that point. I quickly unlocked her cell door and let it swing open. She looked at me cautiously and stood up slowly. I gestured for her to get out of the cell, yet she stood still, untrusting of this strange guard letting her escape. I rolled my eyes and pulled the helmet off, Emma's face lit up slightly at the sight of mine, but then returned to its normal emotionless state, as if she was reining her emotions in.**

 **"** **Hook! How did you get it?" She whispered to me as she walked out of the cell and closed the door behind her.**

 **"** **I think it is rather self-explanatory, what with this ridiculous outfit. The plan is that I am going to pretend as if I'm taking you away somewhere, and you have to let me. Then once near the exit, we get rid of the guards near to us and make a run for it." She nodded quickly and I replaced my helmet. I took her arm as if to be dragging her through the palace, which sent electricity crackling through my nerves at Emma's touch. We worked our way through the castle and made short work of the few guards who stood by the exit.**

 **We sprinted through the field that surrounded the castle, and managed to get into the shelter of the forest without being bowed down. Once back to the clearing where our horses still stood, we collapsed down onto a fallen log, out of breath.**

 **"** **Why did you go back to me?" Emma asked sincerely, "I mean, I told you not to but you still did anyway."**

 **I decided not to suddenly proclaim my love for her, and replied with a simple, "It was the honourable thing to do. It would be bad form to leave you back there to rot."**

 **"** **Who could've guessed it; a pirate with genuine honour."**

 **"** **I could say the same thing about you, bandit."**

 **"** **What makes you say that? I haven't done anything remotely honourable in the last thirty two years of my life."**

 **"** **Well, you could have rather easily killed me when we first met, and you took up my offer. You could have also fled and left me to die this morning, when we were attacked. You have far more honour and goodness inside of you than you think, Swan."**

 **"** **My name's Emma." She replied with a deadpan delivery.**

 **"** **I know," I threw a wink at her, "but I think Swan suits you more."**

 **She shifted slightly on the log, and looked at me with interest twinkling in her eyes, "What's your real name, Hook?"**

 **"** **My name is Killian Jones," I replied matter-of-factly.**

 **"** **Hmm, Killian. Suits you." She paused, "What did you do before you were a pirate, Killian? I mean, I have been like this all my life, but I sense that all that honour of yours wasn't created while you were busy pillaging towns and sailing the seven seas."**

 **"** **Well, as I young lad, my father sold my brother, Liam, and I into slavery on a ship, and we never saw him, until many years down the line. We learnt the ways of the sea and grew up on that ship, and once we were of age, we were sent off to serve in the King's navy. It wasn't long until Liam became Captain of the ship, and I his lieutenant."**

 **I paused, and she still looked at me with an intrigued stare, "We were sent on an expedition to Neverland, to collect a plant called dreamshade, which we were told had magical healing properties, by the King himself. When we got there, Liam, the ever-trusting soul he was, cut himself with the dreamshade to prove that it wasn't harmful. I found out it was a lethal poison and he fell to the ground. I used water which could heal anything on him, and it worked. We disembarked that night, angry at the king for deceiving us. Just as we left the waters of Neverland, my brother collapsed, and…" My voice cracked as I relived the grief of that moment. To my surprise, Emma placed a comforting hand on my arm, which gave me all the strength I could need to carry on.**

 **"** **And he died in my arms. Using that water meant that he was forever tied to the island, and because he left, he died. Grief and anger got the better of me that day, and I turned from the life of a good-hearted lieutenant to a feared, ruthless pirate captain. I stayed that way for many, many years (since I never aged during my time in Neverland) until I met a woman. This woman is so wonderful, and I love her so much that I changed my entire world for her. For her I forced myself away from the villain I once was, and tried my hardest to be the hero she knew I could be. Alas, a wicked sorcerer has forced us apart through magic and she no longer remembers anything of our past, therefore forgetting who I am, and more importantly, who she is."**

 **A/N**

 **Can you feel things warming up between our favourite pirate and his bandit?** **Because I can definitely feel the heat.**

 **Don't forget to tell me all of your opinions, good or bad, in the reviews.**

 **-Sophie**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Emma looked into my eyes, as if she were searching within them. She abruptly stood up and began walking off. "I'm going to get some firewood," She called before disappearing into the night. I let out a long sigh of air and allowed my body to finally relax, so I could think about that day's events. Emma was clearly at war with herself; she did have feelings for me, locked up somewhere, but she saw that as weakness, as a way to be exploited. She wasn't ready to properly trust me or open up to me, because something inside that mind of hers was telling her that I would just take advantage of her and then leave her, just like she believed her parents had.

And that was fine.

I had seen it all before, in Neverland and when Zelena was first attacking. She was scared of the idea that she was vulnerable around me. I knew that it would take her a while to properly accept her feelings, and I had all the time in the world to wait, but this time I knew how to speed that process up. I mean, at this point I knew Emma far better than she knew herself, and I watched her fall in love with me for the first time.

What I had to do was discreetly tell her that I knew it was tough for her to open up, and to let her know that I was fine with it. What I did the first time was unbalance her, make her question her feelings around me, but this time I had to be more stable than a rock.

Emma was soon back, with an armful of dry wood. Without a word, she began to assemble the fire with practice ease. Once she was done with that, I knelt by the pile of wood and lit it using a piece of flint against my hook. Emma sat back down on the log, staring into the tongues of flame that danced on the wood.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"What?"

"I sense that you are uneasy, so talk," She looked at me with surprise; I could only imagine that she has never been asked if her own feelings.

"It's... It's nothing, I'm fine." I just raised my eyebrows at Emma, as I clearly wasn't buying her pathetic excuse of a lie. She huffed and rolled her eyes, and said, "After you telling me about this woman you love, it made me think about how I've never really loved anyone, or felt love myself. I doubt that I ever will have that kind of bond with someone either, not with my past and reputation. And whenever I think that I may develop feelings for someone, I just push them away because love makes people weak."

"It's funny you say that," I began, "because the woman I love is not so different from you, but she grew to know that love isn't weakness, it's strength. Love gives you something to fight for, every single day, and it gives you a reason not to give up." I chuckled slightly, "It seemed as if every single bit of darkness in the world wanted us apart, yet we still kept fighting against it. We fought for each other."

She snorted, "The thing is, I doubt anyone would bother fighting for me,"

"You'd be surprised, Swan." We were silent for a few moments until I changed the subject, "Did the guards take back the ring?"

"Yep."

"Bloody hell," even though I said that, I was secretly happy about that, since it gave me more time for Emma to get to know me, and with any luck, fall in love again.

"Any ideas on how to get it back?" Emma asked.

"Not for the moment, I'm afraid. But I do have an idea that we should try and get away from the palace, and I'll find us a room in an inn, so we can get some rest."

"Sounds like a plan," Emma agreed, "let's get moving."

We were soon off, back through the forest once again. Thankfully, White Knights hadn't been sent after us, or they had lost our tracks, because we had no unfortunate encounters on the way to a small, nearby village. This journey wasn't nearly as silent as the last one; we had laughed and talked of past adventures, along with discussing what we could do about the ring. I could see how the more she became comfortable around me, the more like the Emma Swan I know she became.

At some ridiculous time in the morning, we found a suitable inn, and I got a room for us (seeing as she is even more notorious than I was in this world). Neither of us cared of the fact that there was only one double bed in the room, we just fell onto the bed and slept, out of exhaustion.

We both woke up near midday, now eager to leave the inn so we couldn't be tracked, or caught up by Black Knights. As I talked to Emma more and more, and learnt about the life she remembers, it made me think about the one reason that she was a bandit and not a saviour. Her beginnings were very similar in this life than they were in her true life; abandoned at the roadside as a new born, ran from home to home as a lass. Except one thing; Emma didn't love because Pan had made it so she had never met Baelfire. That means that Henry had never existed here, at all. He was never born. Henry was the one person that brought Emma to her parents, and taught her how to open her heart up to love.

"So, how do you think we get the ring?" Emma asked me.

"I suppose that we could ask around, perhaps?" I suggested, "There may be people in the town who will know whether the queen will be travelling. If she is, we could ambush the carriage."

"I like your thinking, pirate. At this time of year, the queen will soon move to her summer castle, we can catch her on the way there. I know a road that they always take, and it's easy to ambush carriages there. It's probably around two or three day's journey."

As we spoke, the need to tell Emma the truth was gnawing away at me. It was only so long that I could continue to lie about the ring, and about us. I needed to tell her, at some point soon, about everything, whether she believes me or not.

 **A/N**

 **There is still some confusion over Henry and Neal so I hope this chapter helped clear things up. I this reality, both Henry and Neal were never even born, so they don't exist anymore, not while the New Enchanted Forest still stands.**

 **-Sophie**

 **p.s check out my tumblr**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 **Robin's pov**

I had been in the dungeons for around a fortnight now, and every day that I stayed there, alive, was a gift from Regina. Even I knew that any normal prisoner of Regina's would be long dead by now, so why wasn't I? As I sat in my cell, all I could do was turn the question over and over in my mind, and the regret of abandoning the pirate, Hook, plagued me also. I could only hope that he had the sense to not to after Emma Swan, otherwise she would have surely killed him by now.

To my surprise, Regina burst in through the door to the dungeons, completely alone. A few strands of hair fell out of the bun that sat at the base of her head. She was slightly out of breath, and with a huff, she closed the door shut behind her.

"Your majesty," I greeted her, standing up from the ground.

"Cut the crap; we both know that I am no longer anything close to royalty."

"Okay... Then what brings you here? Have you scheduled my execution or..." I trailed off as she took a few steps towards me.

"No, I needed to...talk to you about something," She paused and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, "ever since you and I had our little conversation, something just doesn't feel right."

I walked quickly up to the iron bars that confined me, and closer to Regina, "You feel it too? That something about your life just doesn't make sense?"

She looked at me cautiously before answering. "Yes." She replied simply, "What do you know about it?"

"If I had a feasible answer, your majesty," I looked into her unmistakeably troubled eyes, "I swear that I would tell it."

We stood in silence for a while until a flustered guard burst through the door, panting. Regina turned round sharply, shooting an accusing look at the guard. "Your...your majesty, news has it that...that the pirate captain, Captain Hook, has been found to be in partnership with the bandit Emma Swan. Spies have followed them and they have been in company for multiple days now. They are intending to head for the royal passageway to Snow White's summer palace."

I could barely believe my ears; within a few days, Hook had managed to befriend the Emma Swan. It just went to show that I should have listened to him back in the tavern, and that I knew now that he was right. The only explanation as to Emma Sean's civility with him, is that her soul, deep inside, recognised his.

Regina gave the guard a sinister smile, "Gather a team to capture them immediately. If I have them under lock and key, I also have leverage over Snow White. Only get the best men, though. Emma Swan and her pirate cannot be underestimated." The guard nodded curtly and ran out again.

Regina let out a low, contented laugh. "I will finally be able to get my revenge on Snow White, through these two soon-to-be prisoners."

"But is revenge really the right answer?" I interrupted, shocking myself with the sudden outburst of disrespect. "If you kill Snow White, then her family and the whole kingdom will be after you, in revenge. Once taken, revenge is a powerful vicious circle that could potentially stretch into further generations, and become just a hateful blood-feud. The right thing to do would be to let the Queen be, and instead focus on making peace with yourself and your inner being."

She looked up at me like a snake, venom dripping off of fangs. "Did I ask you for your opinion, thief? Next time you try to give me a speech about hope and love and happiness, you'll be dead before you can say 'motivational'. You have no idea of the kind of loss that Snow White caused me," she spat, "That petulant creature caused the death of my only true love. I doubt that you could ever imagine what that kind of loss feels like."

"Actually, I do." I stated, "But a year ago, my wife passed away far before her time, at the hands of illness."

Thick silence surrounded us again until Regina turned around with a flourish and stalked out of the room, presumably off to capture Emma Swan and Hook.

"Wait!" I called out to her, causing her to turn round sharply.

"What do you want now, thief?" Her eyes were guarded and hostile.

I swallowed, and asked her, "Why haven't you killed me yet? Any other prisoner of yours would be long dead by now, yet I am still here; alive and well, though captive. I'd rather like to know if I were a part of some complex, vengeful agenda."

My words caught her off guard, and she looked around the room, as if to search for an answer engraved into the walls. After a while, she answered with a cracking voice, "I couldn't bring myself to kill you, not after what you said to me. Everyone speaks up to me, yet you talk to me as an equal. I became entirely certain, though, that I couldn't kill you when… when I saw your tattoo. A fairy once told me that a man bearing a lion tattoo was my true love, but I ignored her," tears were running down her cheeks freely, "and until you showed up, it had haunted me."

Regina, by this point, had moved up to my cell so her face was practically in between the bars. Without giving my reason a chance to kick in, I reached out and held Regina's tear-sodden cheek in my hand. I leant forward and gently kissed her, tasting salty tears on her lips.

Suddenly, images burst into my mind, and I watched memories come back to me like a movie. I saw my son, and Storybrooke and its residents, but most importantly, I saw Regina, and felt my love for her. Happiness flooded through my body like a great wave, and I pulled away, looking into Regina's endless brown eyes and seeing the love she had for me there.

"Robin…" she said with a radiant smile on her face, "I remember…" We kissed again through the bars, only this time far deeper and heated.

"As do I, my love." I replied. "Now I would appreciate it if I could be let out of my cell." I said the statement like a question.

She moved towards the door and suddenly stopped. "I… I can't"

"What?"

"However awful it is, Robin, we are both going to have to act like we are still cursed. If we don't, Pan will come for us and we will never see Henry or Roland again."

"But if we just broke the curse, how come we are still in this wretched place?" I asked.

"Remember that Pan kept Hook's memories intact? Well I bet that means he's the saviour now. Though we may have restored each other's memories, we are still cursed. The only way to get back everyone's memories and bring us back home is Hook's True Love's Kiss."

I added, "With Emma, I suppose."

"And that will be easier said than done. You've seen what Emma is like now." She paused as if she suddenly had an idea, "And that is why I must capture them and bring them here. Robin, we can work together to help Hook with Emma, and bring us home."

I nodded, "I'll do whatever it takes, if it means I can get back to my children."

Regina leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss before leaving, "I need to go and get our saviour and his bandit. Oh the irony."

The door shut, and I was left to my own devices again. The hole that had resided in my heart was now filled with joy and hope, at the restoration of my memories, and at the fact that I had been reunited with my true love. We were on our way home, and I knew it wouldn't be a straight or easy path, but I was sure that we could fight through it. I realised then what exactly Pan had cursed us with. He had snuffed the hope out of every single one of us, and only Hook can truly restore that.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 **Killian's pov** "Bloody hell" was the only thing I could manage to mutter as Emma and I were stopped in our tracks. A ring of verging twenty black knights sprouted from the undergrowth surrounding the two of us and a gut-twistingly familiar form strutted out from behind them, towards us. I couldn't help but notice the ghost of a genuine smile touch her lips when she saw the two of us. Was it possible that she somehow remembered? Emma unsheathed her sword and took a step towards the former queen with a clenched jaw, but Regina simply flicked her hand and caused the sword to fly from Emma's grasp and thud to the forest floor. The action seemed forced, and with nowhere near the vigour that the Evil Queen would have while using magic. I knew it wouldn't be of any use to take out my sword; if I did, I would be harming a friend of mine. If Emma ever regained her memories, she would never forgive me for harming the woman who might as well be her sister, they were so close. "Good morning, Ms. Swan," her tone of voice sparked a flame of hope inside me that Regina may well remember, "I do apologise for gate crashing your little ambush of Snow White, but I'm afraid I can't let you, or your one-handed pirate, do that." "His name is Killian." Emma spat defensively. Regina looked as if she were about to say something in return, but then caught herself and turned to face her soldiers, "Guards!" She turned back around to us, "handcuff and lock up Ms. Emma and… Guyliner." Her old (infuriating) nickname sent my eyebrows shooting up at her, questioning her if she remembered. Regina seemed to catch on, and gave me a discreet, but clear, nod. I could have cried out in joy as we were hustled into a horse-pulled prison, but I decided against it as I would rather not make the first impression of a blethering idiot. I did not know how the bloody hell Regina could remember, but it made my job the slightest bit easier, and gave me hope for the chance that we could all get home. As soon as we were thrown into our shared cell in the palace, Emma started kicking and shouting profanities at the door. "Just fucking open you fucking son of a bitch!" She cursed at the door. "I highly doubt that trying to offend the door is going to make it swing open before your feet." I tried to reason with her, but Emma wasn't having the slightest bit of it. She turned to me and looked at me with fire in her emerald eyes, "Don't you start now. I do not need you and your smartass comments right now." I did my best strut over to Emma and leaned right towards her, "If you wish, I can give you something else slightly more… enjoyable right now, to give your mind something entirely different to get heated over," my voice dropped up and one eyebrow shot up, my tongue flicking across my lips. She smiled and rolled her eyes, "I don't need your disgusting innuendos right now either." I gave her my best puppy dog look and said, "Am I too irresistible?" Emma bit her lip as if she in intended to send my heart racing and my body on fire, Gods I was hopeless for all that teasing she did, "I just think you're too horny," She put her hand on my chest, causing my heart to beat even faster, and shoved me away with a smile. If nothing else, I had lightened her heart. Emma sat on the ground with a huff, and I followed suit, sitting by her. "I never thought Regina would be after us, I mean, what does she have against me?" She looked at her hands as she talked. "The Queen has her reasons, love. I dare say you give her leverage against Snow White and, after all, we are both criminals." "I guess." Emma replied simply. "You know, sometimes I wonder why I have so much against Snow White. I mean, she may be a cold and heartless bitch, but she isn't exactly _evil_. Sometimes it feels like there is some force making sure we are always fighting, like it is written into our blood that we have to fight. I feel as if I have to ambush her carriages, and kill her men, and I don't really know _why_." I nodded in understanding, "In my feud against the man who took the woman I loved and my hand, it seemed sometimes that there was no point anymore. It lasted so long that I sometimes lost hope in my revenge, but the hatred would always return when I reminded myself of what he did to me. Only when I met another woman, centuries later, who I love and she loved me, did I end the pointless thirst for revenge. Maybe you should just leave the Queen be, and focus on your own war in your heart. I can tell you are fighting between doing the easy thing and putting those walls up, or doing the right thing and trying to rebuild your ability to trust and love." She swallowed, clearly taken aback by my unexpectedly meaningful words, "How do you know so much about me? I have worked all my life on making sure people can't read me and make me vulnerable, yet you just did it." "Emma," She looked up at me due to my rare use of her first name, "there's something I need to tell you," The words tumbled out of my mouth. "I have not been entirely forthright with you. See, we have met before, on many occasions. You will likely believe me mad, but I just need you to listen. We, and all the other citizens of the New Enchanted Forest, have been cursed here by an evil sorcerer, because he wanted us miserable. We are from a small town in another realm entirely, but the evil sorcerer made the curse so you had fake memories of suffering and hardship. You truly have a huge family, who love you endlessly, and a son, and a man loves you with all of his soul, and you love him back." She snorted, "Is this some kind of joke? I don't even know who my parents are, they just dumped me by the side of the road. And I can hardly believe a man would love this." She gestured to herself. I just looked at her sincerely, "You actually believe this garbage? I'm sorry, _mate,_ but I can't believe a man claiming that I have a family, and I am from another land." Emma shrank away from me and walked back over to the door, not looking at me in the process. "And I was actually starting to like you, pirate." Each of those few words was a stab in the heart, a worse pain than death itself (I would know). I might as well have shivered in the coldness that emulated from Emma, and her frank indifference towards me left me to bleed out. Though a weight had been lifted from my heart, that I was no longer having to put up a front around Emma, it had been replace by the loss of hope for the chance to share True Love's kiss with Emma. An unsettlingly familiar voice drifted towards us from the adjacent cell to ours, which was cloaked in shadows. "You know, Emma, you should really listen to him." 


End file.
